mine quickie humble musings (not a review, per se) on this read, yea:

Having just finished the read, i catch myself deciding, again, that i (still) prefer dear lady Lahiri’s short stories to her novel.

Her prose is still as beautiful, and Jhumpa Lahiri shall always be the one who redeemed my loyal faith (and interest too, perhaps) in Asian American writers, esp. after a not-too-pleasant experience of reading Arundhati Roy’s “The God of Small Things”. – An important note here though: I did enjoy Roy’s essays, replete with her sharp wit and candour, thoroughly. Definitely recommended to all friends. :)

So, although i felt that “The Namesake” is an okay read, to me, Lahiri still reigns as one of my fave authors who writes against a backdrop of the Indian diaspora, on vital (and beautifully real) themes as the immigrant identity, and its sensitivities.

An excerpt from the closing pages of Lahiri’s The Namesake (First Mariner Books: 2003, p.289):

“The givers and keepers of Gogol’s name are far from him now. One dead. Another, a widow, on the verge of a different sort of departure, in order to dwell, as his father does, in a separate world. She will call him, once a week, on the phone. She will learn to send e-mail, she says…
Without people in the world to call him Gogol, no matter how long he himself lives, Gogol Ganguli will, once and for all, vanish from the lips of loved ones, and so, cease to exist…”

Take care all & Wishes, minerva
p.s. Btw, for those who are interested in Russian lit., do check out the sadly beautiful short story, “The Overcoat,” by Nikolai Gogol – the namesake from whom Lahiri’s protagonist, (Nikhil) Gogol’s name is borrowed. :)

My oh my, this is my book of the year. I know it’s a few years old but what a wonderful book. It’s an easy read and the ease with which she flows between narrators/perspectives. Gugol is me except he’s Indian and I’m not. This is a book for misfits. This is a book for those who don’t understand their parents or those who don’t understand their children. This is a great book.

I got this book at the airport on the way to England…. It occupied a little of my time while waiting in the airport and after that I set it aside and occupied my time other ways. On the way back to the states I really didnt have much to do the movies were not appealing so I began to read again, and it was like by some weird chance that I got to the part where his first girlfriend is in england and he talks about how he cant stand that when he is laying down to sleep she is getting up in preparation for a new day. Well the reason i found this to be an odd coincidence was because it was exactly how I felt as i was flying back home… thinking of my boyfriend starting his day when i am laying down to sleep. I guess it made me feel like I wasnt alone in my pain and heartbreak.

I must say that I preferred her short stories… a lot more impact in a lot fewer words… this was a loverly read, though.